Never judging books by their cover

Books Are My Bag are celebrating selling 1 million tote bags and they are offering book lovers the prize bundle of a lifetime – £250 National Book Tokens, a Golden ticket to the Hay Festival, a picture signed by Quentin Blake, West End tickets… see below for more details. This is the most incredibly gift ever!

Now in its fifth year, the Books Are My Bag campaign highlights and celebrates the vital role of high street and campus bookshops. Over the last four years, a million people have worn a Books Are My Bag canvas bag in support of the campaign.

One lucky book lover is in with the chance of winning a host of extraordinary prizes donated from across the book industry and beyond, including a beautiful, totally one-off Orla Kiely luxury leather bag, in the style of this year’s Books Are My Bag tote bag.

To enter, book lovers just need to Tweet #OneInAMillion saying what their favourite bookshop is and why.

The #OneInAMillion Prize winner will take home:
· An exclusive, one-off Orla Kiely leather bag
· £250 in National Book Tokens
· A golden ticket to Hay Festival
· Afternoon Tea for Two at Claridges (Hachette)
· London Zoo tickets and a copy of Zoo Quest (Hachette)
· A limited-edition copy of Alan Bennett’s ‘Keeping on Keeping On’, RRP £200 (Faber)
· A limited-edition print from Billy and the Minpins, signed by Quentin Blake (Puffin)
· A special edition ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ (Vintage)
· A set of Vintage Classics Dickens (Vintage)
· A signed ‘Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World’ print by Kate Pankhurst (Bloomsbury)
· A signed first-edition copy of ‘Sparsholt Affair’ by Alan Hollinghurst (Pan Macmillan)
· A set of PanMacmillan 70th Anniversary edition books (Pan Macmillan)
· A pair of tickets to ‘The Christmasaurus’ Live on Stage at the London Apollo (Penguin Random House) – any date between 20 – 28th December

Two runners up will also be in with the chance of winning the following fantastic prizes:

Second Prize·
A signed copy of ‘Hurrah for Gin’ by Katie Kirby, together with a bottle of Sipsmith gin (Hachette)
· A copy of Nigella Lawson’s new cookbook, ‘At My Table’ (Vintage)
· A signed copy of ‘The Pearl Thief’ by Elizabeth Wein (Bloomsbury)
· A signed copy of ‘My Name is Victoria’ by Lucy Worsley (Bloomsbury)
· A signed copy of ‘Moonrise’ by Sarah Crossan (Bloomsbury)
· Subscription to the ‘New Scientist’ magazine (Hachette)
· Haunted House tour and a signed copy of ‘Devil’s Day’ by Andrew Hurley (Hachette)
· A mounted Emily Sutton print (Bloomsbury)

Third Prize
· A copy of ‘Sleeping Beauties’ by Stephen King and a box set of Stephen King DVD’s (Hachette)
· A signed copy of ‘Down to Earth: Gardening Wisdom’ by Monty Don (DK)
· A copy of The Creakers by Tom Fletcher (Puffin)
· A signed print of Oliver Jeffers’ new book ‘Here We Are’ (Penguin Random House)
· A Perfectly Norman print by Tom Percival (Bloomsbury)

The competition marks the 1 millionth Books Are My Bag tote bag to be worn by the public, showing their support for bookshops in the UK & Ireland.

Meryl Halls, Head of Membership Services at the Booksellers Association, said: “Reaching our one millionth supporter is a hugely exciting milestone, and we’re delighted to be able to show our thanks to bookshop lovers across the UK & Ireland with this fabulous prize. It is wonderful to see the book industry coming together to support bookshops with the amazing prizes they have donated. We wish everyone the best of luck, and look forward to hearing all about our supporters’ favourite bookshops!”

Bookshop lovers will have until 7th November to enter the competition, with the lucky winners being revealed on 25th November, when bookshops across the country will offer a Saturday Sanctuary as respite from the business of daily life.

Orla Kiely, said: “I am so happy to have collaborated with the Bookseller’s Association. As a great lover of books and bookshops, nothing gives me more pleasure than discovering a new book, whether it’s a beautiful edition on a new favourite photographer, a great novel or a rare out of print edition. There is nothing more relaxing, inspiring or stimulating than reading and losing oneself in another world. We should all take time to read and importantly, to encourage our children to love books.”

Booklovers across the UK & Ireland are being encouraged to join an unprecedented nationwide campaign – BOOKS ARE MY BAG – that celebrates high street & campus bookshops. BOOKS ARE MY BAG is a collaboration between publishers, bookshops, authors and agents, devised by advertising agency, M&C Saatchi, to champion the passion for books and bookshops and celebrate their cultural importance on the high street.

For many people bookshops conjure fond images of book readings, in-store cafes and delight at the discovery of a new author. In fact, 56% of all book buying decisions are made by consumers in a bookshop and high street bookshops (both chains and independents) still account for almost 40% of books bought by consumers (by value) (Bowker Research 2013). Yet, many high street bookshops are under threat from punitive rates and rents, as well as pressure from the internet book retailers.

BOOKS ARE MY BAG aims to reverse this process by reigniting the nation’s love of bookshops, calling on book lovers to show their support by visiting and purchasing a book from their favourite bookshop on Saturday 14th September. A full list of the events can be found at the BOOKS ARE MY BAG website (www.booksaremybag.com).

BOOKS ARE MY BAG was launched to the bookselling industry in April at The London Book Fair and has since recruited around 100 high profile UK and international authors, broadcasters, models, sports stars, actors, politicians, chefs, journalists and comedians willing to lend their image to the campaign, to be photographed with the iconic canvas bag which has been designed as the centrepiece for the movement.

The BOOKS ARE MY BAG bag carries a simple and powerful message allowing readers to display their love and support for local bookshops while encouraging others to do so. Over a quarter of a million bags will be distributed from 14th September to Christmas at over 1,800 chain and independent bookshops from across the UK & Ireland.

Children’s author and journalist Francesca Simon (creator of Horrid Henry) commented: “Bookshops, like libraries, are the closest we get to a magic kingdom on earth. They’re a world of treats waiting to be devoured. There’s nothing like browsing in a welcoming shop and discovering a writer or a book you’ve never heard of. And it’s such an event for children to be taken to a bookshop knowing they can choose a book for keeps.”

Patrick Neale (Jaffe & Neale Bookshop & Cafe and President of The Booksellers Association) said: “Booklovers need to part of this renewed zeal to keep books on the high street. We urge you to go into your local bookshop on Saturday 14 September and buy a book in recognition of the many wonderful hours you have spent perusing bookshop shelves. Just get involved and vote with your feet for the high street you want to see in the future.”

Gail Rebuck (Chair and CEO of Random House) said: “Bookshops are of great cultural importance to the country at large and the communities they serve. In these challenging times for the UK High Street, it is terrific that a world renowned advertising company – M&C Saatchi – has devised such a positive campaign for all booksellers. This initiative focuses on the art of the possible and will celebrate the simple joy of browsing – and, of course, buying and reading books.”

The BOOKS ARE MY BAG mission statement concludes: “When you buy a book from a bookshop, you get a possession that you may well value for the rest of your life. You’ll have enjoyed the pleasure of browsing other books before making your choice. You may well have got advice about it from someone who loves books even more than you do, the bookseller on the other side of the counter. And you will have partaken in a process that is a vital part of our culture, our community and our High Street. This bag is designed to encourage the most important people, the book reading public, to assert their love and support for bookshops and encourage others to do so. It says “I use bookshops because I value them. And I want it to stay that way”.